


Softness

by the_technicolor_whiscash



Category: Twin Peaks
Genre: Bad Handling of Emotions, Gunshot Wounds, Kissing, M/M, Professions of love, based end season one beginning season two, hospitalization because of the aforementioned wound
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-15
Updated: 2018-06-15
Packaged: 2019-05-23 14:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14936012
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/the_technicolor_whiscash/pseuds/the_technicolor_whiscash
Summary: Special Agent Dale Cooper has just been shot, and confesses something to Harry that was entirely unexpected.





	Softness

**Author's Note:**

> *Doofenshmirtz voice* “and when I say unexpected I mean completely expected”

“Shit.” Harry Truman said, running into Cooper’s hotel room. “Shit. Shit. Coop, are you with me?”

Cooper lay on the floor, gunshot wounds causing a splash of red across his white shirt. His eyes were closed, but he was conscious. “It appears as though I’ve been shot.”

“No kidding.” He put his hand over Cooper’s wound and applied pressure. “Stay with me, alright?”

“What, don’t go towards the light? Don’t worry. I’m not ready to go yet.”

“Good. Good.”

Cooper weakly put a hand atop Harry’s. “You know I wouldn’t leave you. You’re too good for me.”

“Trust me, Coop, you’re a far better man than I am.”

“That’s the thing, though, I’m not.” He gave a pained laugh. “You wanna know something, Harry?”

“What, Coop?”

“I’ve got a bit of a crush on you.”

Harry felt as though he might have been hit by a bus. His stomach tightened, in a feeling he recognized but really didn’t want to acknowledge at this time. “What, uh, what kind of a crush?”

“The schoolboy kind. The stupid one, where you desperately want to kiss the other person, even if they might not kiss back.” Cooper’s thumb caressed the back of Harry’s hand. “And I know you’ve thought the same.”

Harry felt a blush spreading across his face. So, maybe he had. Maybe, late in the night, it was Cooper’s face he saw in his less than work-appropriate dreams. “We, ah, we haven’t known each other for very long.”

“I know that. But I also know the feeling I get in my gut every time I see you smile.” Coop’s voice was fading. The blood loss wasn’t exactly doing good things for him. 

“Are you just telling me this because you might die?”

“No, chances are I’ll get through this alive. I seem to be rather loopy from blood loss. And if it didn’t come out now, it would end up coming out later.”

“I–“

“We don’t have to talk about it right now. And besides, I don’t think I’m going to be able to. I feel myself slowly leaning towards unconsciousness more and more as this conversation’s gone on.”

“Don’t do that. Stay with me, buddy.”

Unfortunately, it was too late, and Cooper’s hand slacked, slipping to the floor. He still had a pulse, but he had lost a lot of blood. 

And that was when the EMT’s got there. They carted him away on a stretcher, and Harry was left alone in the room, the weight of what Cooper had said finally settling in. 

Did he feel something towards Coop? Something beyond just a casual friendship/work partnership? How many dreams do you have to have about a person before it means that you would rather be dating them than just being friends? 

It was an awful lot to think about. Harry, upon analysis of the situation, decided that he wouldn’t be opposed to them becoming… something. In fact, the more he thought about it, the better an idea it became. He liked the idea of them sleeping together, waking up together, and holding hands over breakfast. It presented a kind of domesticity that he hadn’t had in a while. They might have to hide their relationship from certain less open-minded people, but that was alright. He hid his relationship with Josie from everyone, until that came to an end. 

Yes, when Cooper got through this whole bullet wound thing, they would talk about this. And hopefully things would fall into place. 

——————

It was a day later. Cooper had spent absolutely no time in the hospital, and Harry was more than concerned for his wellbeing. But the thing was, Cooper didn’t bring up his dramatic confession throughout the entire day. By the end of the night, Harry was getting impatient. And slightly worried. What if he didn’t remember?

As time ticked by, everyone else in the sheriff’s office went home, finally leaving Harry and Cooper alone. But Harry wasn’t sure he wanted to be the one to mention it. Luckily, Cooper began the conversation on his own. 

“Harry, I have a question for you.” Cooper said, twirling a pencil between his fingers. 

“Sure, Coop. Shoot.”

“Ok, well, first things first, I think it’s about time you start calling me by my first name. We are friends, after all.”

“Alright, if that’s what you want.”

“Good. Next thing is the actual question. Did I, in my semi-delirious state of blood loss, mention anything of importance?”

Shit. Harry was blushing again. “Bits and pieces, yeah.”

“Judging by the look on your face, it was something rather shocking.”

He hadn’t even realized he had changed his expression. “You, uh, you could say that.”

Coop– Dale suddenly stopped fiddling with the pen. “What was it?”

“You may or may not have mentioned that you have a bit of a crush on me.”

Dale’s eyes widened. “Oh, no. I thought that was a dream.”

“I can honestly tell you it was not.”

Dale stood. He began pacing back and forth, in a clear amount of distress. “I don’t… I don’t know how to explain it, Harry. It must’ve just slipped out. I… if you want to transfer off the case, I totally understand. I can get some other FBI agent to come up here and finish up the case.”

“Dale.” Harry said, standing up. Dale was still pacing back and forth. “Dale. Dale!”

He finally came to a halt, but didn’t meet Harry’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have put you through this.”

“You’re not putting me through anything. You said what you really felt, that’s not against the law.”

“I… I should go.” 

Dale started out the door, and Harry followed him. “Where the hell’re you going?”

Dale didn’t answer. He just proceeded down the hall and towards the exit. Suddenly, he froze, and his hand flew up to his side. “Maybe you were right. Maybe I should’ve stayed in the hospital.”

And with that, he collapsed to the floor. 

“Damnit, Dale.” Harry muttered as he ran over. “You’ve gotta stop doing this to me.” 

Seeing no other way to deal with the issue, he scooped the man into his arms bridal-style. If it still counts as bridal when the other person is unconscious and bleeding through their bandages. Harry gently put Dale in his car, and immediately headed towards the hospital. He had to carry him into the emergency room, where nurses quickly attended to him. 

Dale came to about an hour later. Harry had been waiting, sitting in a chair at his bedside, flipping through a pointless celebrity magazine. When he noticed Dale’s eyes flutter open, he quickly threw the magazine aside and took the man’s hand. 

“Harry.” Dale said weakly. “My mouth once again feels like it’s filled with cotton balls.”

“Yeah, well, that’s because you bled through your bandages and passed out on the floor.”

“I can’t say I expected to see you here. Not after our last conversation.”

“And why not?”

“Well, I had very recently confessed my love to you. And I know you’re a fairly open-minded man, and I’ve seen the glances you give me sometimes, but you didn’t–“

“You never gave me the chance to reply.” Harry smiled, rubbing his thumb along Dale’s knuckles. “You tend to ramble, you know.”

“Yes, I do know that. I’ll shut up now, though, if you’d like to talk.”

“I would like that.” He shifted his position from the chair to the edge of Dale’s bed. Dale inhaled sharply. “Too close?”

“No, no. Just a little surprising. Continue.” 

“What I was going to say was that I like you too. Very much so, in fact. And I’ve had some time to think about this.”

“And?”

“And I think,” Harry leaned over so that his face was mere inches away from Dale’s. “I think I’d like to give this a try. Give us a try. If you’re up for it.”

“Oh, I’d be more than up for it, Harry.”

“Good.” Harry closed the gap between them, pressing his lips to Dale’s. With his free hand, he caressed Dale’s cheek, feeling the smooth skin under his fingertips. 

When they pulled apart, Dale released a short laugh. “If my heart races any faster, the nurses will think I’m dying. How quickly do you think I’ll be able to get out of this hospital?”

Harry shook his head. “You’re not leaving. At least not until tomorrow. I’m not having another incident with you passing out.”

“Oh, come on. It wasn’t that bad.”

“Yes it was! I had to carry you into the hospital because you decided to turn into a sock monkey.”

A mischievous smile crossed Dale’s face. “Now that I wish I had been conscious for. You’re like a knight in shining armor.”

“More like an ex-firefighter.”

Dale glanced at the clock on the wall. “It’s getting late. You might want to head home, get some rest.”

“I’m not going home. I don’t trust you not to escape from the hospital while I’m gone.”

“So, maybe that was my initial plan. We could probably ask a nurse if they could bring up a cot–“

“Nonsense. Scoot over.”

Dale shuffled to the other side of the bed, and Harry climbed in beside him. It was a bit of a squeeze, but they fit. Harry laid on his side, arms around the other man, and Dale nestled himself deeply against his chest. 

“Mm.” Dale muttered, inhaling deeply. “You smell like those Douglas Firs.”

“Nature’s finest cologne.” 

“Is it weird that I always kind of wondered what you smelled like?”

Harry laughed. “Seems reasonable to me. I’ve always wondered what your hair looks like when it’s not slicked back like that.”

“Oh, it’s a mess. Slicking it back is the only way I can tame it.”

“Maybe I’d like to see it untamed.”

Dale smiled into his chest. “I’m sure you would. And you might eventually. If I ever forget to one day do my whole routine.”

“Do you wash it out before you go to bed?”

“Not usually. If it’s particularly gnarly, I will, but most of the time I won’t.”

“Interesting.” Harry ran his fingers through Dale’s hair, messing it up a little. “Yes, I’d like to see that.”

“Maybe someday. But right now we ought to get some sleep so we can get an early start in the morning.”

“Absolutely not. You’re going to be taking it slow.”

“Listen, just because I have a bullet wound, it doesn’t mean I can’t work.”

“I want you to really think about that sentence.”

Dale paused. “Alright, maybe I can come in late.”

“Good.”

“But only if you come in late too.”

“Of course. We’ll stroll in together.”

“Good.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have been watching twin peaks for two days and have already written two fanfictions specifically about these two


End file.
